Hello. I am Attorney Lee Young-kyung from Cheongchul Law Firm.

In the last column, we looked at the issues of greenwashing in SPA brands, time-limited offers on e-commerce platforms, and examples of penalties for prize marketing. In this column, we will conduct an in-depth analysis based on the recent press release from the Fair Trade Commission regarding the obstruction of withdrawal requests on luxury platforms and the instructor experience and admission result advertising in the private education market. Please note that this analysis is based on the press release at the time of the Fair Trade Commission's sanctions, and the final determination may change due to lawsuits and other factors.

Cheongchul Law Firm is composed of attorneys who have experience responding to Fair Trade Commission investigations on behalf of companies related to the Act on the Regulation of Specific Advertisement and have all received recognition for the legality of penalties for violations of the Act in court on behalf of the Fair Trade Commission. If you have any questions regarding the matters below, please do not hesitate to contact Cheongchul Law Firm.

5. Sanctions against three luxury sales platforms for time-limited advertisements and obstruction of withdrawal requests

A. Mustit Co., Ltd.: False discount advertising, deceptive inducement, and obstruction of withdrawal requests

1) False and exaggerated time-limited discount advertisements

• Main advertising phrases and circumstances: While mediating or selling products on its own website's 'Hot Deal' webpage, it advertised as if discounts were only available for a specific period by showing a countdown timer with phrases such as "One-day-only super bargain time sale" and "Sale is ending soon".

• However, the actual fact is that the products in question were products that continued to hold discount promotions at the same price. In other words, unlike the advertisement, the discounts did not end after the specified period and were ongoing discounted products.

• The Fair Trade Commission deemed the above advertisement to be in violation of Article 3(1)(1) of the Act on the Regulation of Specific Advertisement (false and exaggerated), and imposed a fine of 16 million won along with a corrective order and a disclosure order.

2) Deceptive methods to lure consumers (Sorting criteria)

• Circumstances of the act: Setting 'Popular Order' and 'Mustit Ranking Order' as the default sorting methods, the products of vendors who purchased a paid option service were prioritized for exposure.

• However, the actual fact is that consumers perceived 'ranking order' as actual popular or widely purchased products, but advertisement-paid products were placed at the top. The indication that it was an advertisement was not intuitively understandable and difficult to distinguish from regular products.

• The Fair Trade Commission found that the above action violated Article 21(1)(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act by using deceptive methods to lure consumers or conduct transactions with consumers and imposed a fine of 2.5 million won.

3) Obstruction of withdrawal requests using false statements

• Action phrase: Even in cases of misdelivery and product defects, it was indicated that returns could only be made "within 7 days of receipt" and "size miss" was specified as a reason for non-refund.

• However, the actual fact is that according to the Electronic Commerce Act, refunds can be made within 3 months (or within 30 days from the date of notification) if there are product defects, yet the legal period was shortened in the guidance, and 'size miss' is not a valid reason to refuse refunds under the law.

• The Fair Trade Commission considered the above action as obstructing the consumer's legitimate withdrawal request under Article 21(1)(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act and imposed a fine of 2.5 million won.

B. Trenbe Co., Ltd.: Obstruction of withdrawal requests and violation of information provision obligations

1) Obstruction of withdrawal requests using false information

• Action phrase: "Final Sale" and "Season Off" products were indicated to be non-refundable under any circumstances, and it was stated that used goods must be reported "within 1 day of receipt".

• However, the actual fact is that restrictions on withdrawal requests were made based on reasons not specified by law (such as sale products), or a shorter period (1 day) was presented than the legal period (7 days), obstructing consumers' exercise of rights.

• The Fair Trade Commission found that the above action obstructed the legitimate withdrawal requests of consumers under Article 21(1)(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act and imposed a fine of 2.5 million won.

2) Violation of obligations to provide transaction conditions and identity information

• Circumstances of the act: Information such as the manufacturer, importer, or parallel imports were provided with vague terms like "Brand Home" and "Primo Club", or essential information such as material/size was omitted. Additionally, during used goods transactions, they did not inform consumers that they were not parties involved in the transaction at the initial screen.

• The Fair Trade Commission deemed the above action as violating Article 13(2) (Information Provision) and Article 20(1) (Intermediary Notices) of the Electronic Commerce Act and imposed a fine of 1 million won.

C. Balang Co., Ltd.: Violation of minor rights notification and identity information display obligations

1) Failure to notify obligations for information provision and cancellation rights of minors

• Circumstances of the act: When selling products such as bags, information about the manufacturer, importer, and country of manufacture was omitted. Moreover, when a minor makes a payment, they did not separately inform that the contract could be canceled without the consent of the legal representative.

• The Fair Trade Commission viewed the above action as violating Article 13(2) and (3) of the Electronic Commerce Act for omitting information regarding goods and imposed a fine of 1 million won each.

2) Failure to verify intermediary identity information and violation of cyber mall display obligations

• Circumstances of the act: Did not provide the identity information of the transaction requester such as address, phone number, etc., to consumers, and omitted phone numbers, email addresses, and the name of the hosting service provider at the bottom of their website.

• The Fair Trade Commission treated the above actions as violations of Article 20(2) and Article 10(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act and imposed a fine of 1 million won.

Reference press release: April 20, 2025, Sanctions against violations of the Act on the Regulation of Specific Advertising and Electronic Commerce Law by expensive, well-known product sales platforms - correction orders, fines, and penalties against Mustit Co., Ltd., Trenbe Co., Ltd., and Balang Co., Ltd.

6. Sanctions against KS Co., Ltd. for unfair advertising of instructor qualifications and experience in the private education market

A. Overview of the incident and violation phrases

• Circumstances of the act: KS Co., Ltd., which operates academy education businesses centered in Daegu, produced promotional materials titled ‘Kim Teacher Academy’s Avengers’ to promote the instructors of the ‘Kim Teacher Academy Suseong Campus’ that they operate. The business owner extensively advertised the competitiveness of the instructors by attaching banners, signboards, and posters to the walls of the academy's facilities.

• Main advertising phrases: For instructor Kim oo, it was indicated that they graduated from “Seoul National University Department of Mathematical Sciences,” and the phrase “ annually produces numerous successful students into SKY and medical/dental colleges” was used regarding their performance.

B. Facts differing from advertising

• Misrepresentation of academic and career facts: The instructor Kim OO, who was the subject of advertising, had no record of being admitted to or graduated from Seoul National University Department of Mathematical Sciences.

• Exaggeration of performance: The promotion that stated, “annually produces numerous successful students into SKY and medical/dental colleges” was also advertised without objective verification of how many students from that cohort actually succeeded in entering those universities and fields.

C. Judgments and measures of the Fair Trade Commission

• The Fair Trade Commission considers the academic qualifications and career of instructors among the most important factors consumers consider when deciding whether to enroll in offline academy lectures and deemed advertising them falsely or excessively inflating them as misleading consumers about the instructors' capabilities, hindering fair and rational choices, and deemed it a violation of Article 3(1)(1) of the Act on the Regulation of Specific Advertisement.

• Measures taken: The Fair Trade Commission decided to impose correction and disclosure orders on KS Co., Ltd. This decision aims to alert not only the Gyeongsangdo region where the instructor operates but all academy operators and address unfair advertising practices occurring amidst intense competition for attracting students.

Reference press release: June 25, 2025, Sanctions against unfair advertising regarding the academic qualifications and career of affiliated instructors in the private education sector.

In conclusion

Sanctions against well-known product platforms demonstrate the Fair Trade Commission's strong will to eradicate unfair advertising and obstruction of withdrawal requests in the online platform market. This action aims to ensure a market environment where consumers can make rational purchasing choices without distorted information by strictly enforcing the obligations under the Act on the Regulation of Specific Advertisement and Electronic Commerce Act against platform operators. It is expected that the Fair Trade Commission will continue to monitor and respond severely to acts that undermine fair trading order in the online platform market and damage consumer trust in the future.

The cases of sanctions in the private education market are strongly alerting academy operators to inflate instructors' academic qualifications and career amidst intense competition for student recruitment. This reaffirms that unfair marketing practices that infringe on consumers' rights to rationally choose educational services are subject to legal sanctions and is expected to be an important catalyst for establishing fair competition order in the private education market.

Please check the recent enforcement cases of the Fair Trade Commission regarding specific advertisement and review the current status of your marketing, and if you need expert assistance in the process, do not hesitate to contact Cheongchul.

Cheongchul Law Firm consists of attorneys from the top five law firms in the country, prosecutors, and legal teams from large corporations. Instead of solving a single issue, we construct teams of specialized attorneys related to the case and provide a comprehensive solution for the entire business, focusing on achieving what the clients want. If you need help achieving your goals, please contact Cheongchul without hesitation.